Backrooms (2026): Review

Backrooms is a shining example of a creepypasta movie done right, and brings some honor to the oft-maligned name of internet horror. It’s thematically competent, thoroughly unsettling, and faithful to the source material while still telling its own original story.
As someone who was not very well-versed in the original backrooms analog horror series, I was skeptical of the handheld sections when they were first revealed in the trailers, but seeing them on the big screen really sold me on it. I thought they worked really well both as a part of the movie and as an homage to the analog horror series that launched backrooms into popularity. I was also skeptical of the inclusion of ASYNC, but I was pleasantly surprised with how well that plot point was handled. It was very unobtrusive and didn’t feel forced, which I was very happy about.
The film itself was very compelling from a narrative standpoint and kept me hooked throughout the entire runtime. I was always looking forward to how the story would progress and I was never bored. The pacing felt really good and I don't think it should have been shorter or longer at all. Thematically, it was satisfying. It felt like the movie knew what it wanted to say, and the delivery of its message was well-done, with ambiguity serving to enhance the film rather than muddy it up.
I really loved the look of the film. The backrooms themselves are the star of the show in a sense, so making the environment feel good and believable was very important to me, and they definitely delivered. I also thought that the still lives looked great; I thought they were uncanny without being comical (with the exception of maybe the guy at the dinner table). Pirate Clark in particular stood out to me as an excellent creature design, blending the lanky silhouette of the original backrooms lifeform with the thematically important Cap’n Clark persona. I also found the ending to be very haunting, especially with the cut to credits and that excellent song by the Boards of Canada. The cinematography in general is amazing; many of the shots were so artistic and thoughtful and it really made an impact on the final viewing experience.
I was thoroughly impressed with Backrooms. I think it succeeds as an adaptation of Kane Parsons’ original web series as well as an original horror film. I would absolutely watch this film again, and I hope to see Parsons returning to the film world soon to direct more movies in the future, as his work in this one is very promising.